"From Death to Renewal"

Kill the old nature. Put off the old self. Put on the new self.

Colossians 3:5-10

Bible Passage

Colossians 3:1-10 (CSB - Christian Standard Bible)

1So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.

3For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

4When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

6Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient,

7and you once walked in these things when you were living in them.

8But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.

9Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices

10and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

1

HOOK (Grab Attention)

Illustration

Have you ever known someone that whenever they hangout with certain people, they begin to act just like them?

They may not even realize that they are doing it, but they are acting just like them...everyone else knows though.

Maybe this is you??  Maybe this is someone you know??

"I can tell who you have been hanging out with...."

2

BOOK

Bible Passage

Colossians 3:5-10 (CSB - Christian Standard Bible)

5Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.

6Because of these, God’s wrath is coming upon the disobedient,

7and you once walked in these things when you were living in them.

8But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.

9Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices

10and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

Explanation

Paul starts off saying:

IF you have died WITH Christ to the elemental spirits of the world, why do you LIVE as if you belong to the world?

IF you have been raised WITH Christ, seek the things above, set your minds

for you died and your life is hid with Christ

Christ IS OUR LIFE, and when He appears, we will appear with Him in glory/magnificence

THEREFORE

"Put to death" then "put away"

"Put to death what belongs to your earthly nature:

"Sexual immorality"

Porneia

This covers EVERY sort of encounter outside of Biblical marriage

Adultery/Lust

Beastiality

Incest

Homosexuality

Lesbianism

Pornography

American culture is so sexualized and we, as a country, are spreading this culture worldwide as "acceptable"

It has stained our culture so much so, that we cannot appreciate the true masculinity of a man or the true beauty of a woman without the assumption of sexual thought.

The gospel recalibrates and restores our ability to see others as actual people and NOT OBJECTS.

We cannot truly LOVE anyone if we view them without a soul.

Everyone will give an account of themselves before the Lord, for the things done in the body.

Are you, as a son or daughter of the MOST HIGH, contributing to the wrath to come for another person?

Put it to DEATH

"Impurity"

Not only the impurity of the physical actions, but evil thoughts and intentions

Doing things with impure motives in your mind/heart

Not just sexual

Doing things just to get something you want

"Mindset of manipulation"

Self-centered, impure motives

"Lust/Passion"

This doesn't mean general passion or desire

it is a good thing to have passion for the right things

This is describing the person who is a SLAVE TO HIS/HER DESIRES

Someone who is a slave to HIS/HER passions

Whatever the passion is, they do automatically

No restraint

Passion leads their hearts and not wisdom and righteousness

PUT IT TO DEATH

"Evil Desire"

Longing/desire/craving for a forbidden thing

PUT IT TO DEATH

"Greed"

the desire for WEALTH, "which is idolatry"

a desire for wealth is rooted in a dissatisfaction with what God has given

This is NOT referring to you knowing that you can do better for yourself with your job or way of living...

We can ALWAYS be IMPROVING to become a better representation of the King and the Kingdom

It is a DESIRE for the GIFTS and GAINS more than the GIVER of what is GOOD...

If our GREATEST desire is for the GIVER rather than the GIFTS, we will always have what is GOOD.

He is Good.

He is ALL WE NEED.

IF He has us and we have Him, we have EVERYTHING.

Holy Spirit, through Paul, is saying that we need to PUT TO DEATH these things because they are not our NATURE.

He says, "because of these, GOD'S WRATH is coming"

The death and DESTRUCTION of God is coming because of these things

Sons and Daughters of God should NOT be participating in these things.

We have been made into the Holy Ones of God, as His Family.

"and you once walked in these things when you were living in them"

You were a ZOMBIE.  Living in a world of death.

The life that Christ has given you by being born again is the VERY LIFE OF GOD.

YOU CANNOT SURVIVE FEASTING ON DEATH.

you will not thrive attempting to live in the old way

maybe your life has never changed??

maybe that whole list is the definition of your life right now??

If so, you have not been born again.

Give up that list, throw it onto Jesus and walk in New Life that only comes from Him.

Bible Passage

Colossians 3:8 (CSB - Christian Standard Bible)

8But now, put away all the following: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and filthy language from your mouth.

Explanation

"Put to death" the nature of the old life.  Kill it or it will be killing you.  PERIOD.  It will drain you DRY...

"Put away"  = Put down; set to the side; cast off these things

"Anger"

Being considered to be a "short tempered" person

Someone with a short fuse.

Take off that reputation and bringing it under submission to the Father

Stop REACTING and start prayerfully RESPONDING

"Wrath"

A boiling over fierceness.  Glowing HOT rage.

"breathing hard"

ILL:  My dad calling me on the phone once about his step father inlaw...

"Malice"

Ill-will, desire to injure; hatred

NOT in defending those who need defending

maliciously desiring to harm someone just because

hatred is murder (Matthew 5)

"Slander"

Injurious speech against someone's good name

NOT necessarily telling the obvious truth of an OPEN matter

It has EVERYTHING to do with the intent of the heart

Are you gossiping?

Are you putting down others so that you appear to be higher than them?

There is a way to speak on a matter that will help prevent folks from being deceived or led astray.

Again, the heart behind it will be evident.

Our New Nature's default position should be encouragement, Truth, and Love, all wrapped in humility.

"Filthy language from your mouth"

Foul conversation/Obscene speech

It REALLY isn't about the "list of cuss words" that this intends

It has everything to do with what the word is referring to and the HEART BEHIND saying it.

Our list of cuss words vs our list of permissible words

THEY BOTH MEAN THE EXACT SAME THING

So, either words can be used in a correct context, or NEITHER LIST should be spoken, due to the nature of the meaning behind them.

Nonetheless, we should be speaking as REPRESENTATIVES OF THE KINGDOM/EMPIRE

"Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices"

speaking deliberate falsehoods

with your lips or with your actions

Don't be a hypocrite or two-faced

living one way in FRONT of everyone and the truth between you and God is a totally different reality.

Bible Passage

Colossians 3:9-10 (CSB - Christian Standard Bible)

9Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old self with its practices

10and have put on the new self. You are being renewed in knowledge according to the image of your Creator.

Explanation/Application

Don’t live in these ways because you have a new nature.

You have “put off these practices”.

Do you still practice these things??

If the new self has been put on by Christ, through a continual growth in repenting of sin, avoiding sin, and growing in believing God, you are being RENEWED more and more into the image of our Creator!

You begin to look like who you’re hanging out with.

3

LOOK

Application

What does this mean for us?  Is it just a list of Do's and Don'ts??

APP:

If Christ has come to us and caused us to be born again, our lives will not look like the death of our past...

it will truly be a thing of the past and will ever be increasing to be further and further into our past.

Truly, it was a life once lived.

Never to be lived in again...

4

TOOK

Challenge Application

When you begin to see some of these try and creep up into your lives, PUT THEM TO DEATH before they bring DEATH TO YOU.

HOW?

The main mission of our lives is NOT TO FIGHT SIN, but to stay near to OUR FATHER.

ILL:  When you were a child in the Mall, you did NOT need to know of EVERY SINGLE potential danger that COULD happen at EVERY TURN.  All you needed to be concerned with was to STAY NEAR TO DAD.

If you stay beside DAD, everything will be alright.

How?

Worship in reading the Word with Him.

Speaking with Him in prayer.

Loving Him with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength

Loving our neighbors in the same way that we love ourselves.

Our lives are NOT about ducking and dodging temptations, but enjoying staying in the presence of Our Father and growing our enjoyment of his presence.

I understand that not everyone had a good father, and those of us who did, did not have perfect fathers, but if we are BORN AGAIN, we have the BEST FATHER.

He is Good.

He is True.

He is Faithful.

He is Just.

We can TRUST Him to do everything for our best interest and for our own JOY IN HIM.

The more we hangout with Him, the more we will act like Him.